Book description
The publication of Robinson Crusoe in London in 1719 marked
the arrival of a revolutionary art form: the novel. British writers
were prominent in shaping the new type of storytelling - one which
reflected the experiences of ordinary people, with characters in whom
readers could find not only an escape, but a deeper understanding of
their own lives.
But the novel was more than just a reflection of British life. As
Sebastian Faulks explains in this engaging literary and social
history, it also helped invent the British. By focusing not on writers
but on the people they gave us, Faulks not only celebrates the
recently neglected act of novelistic creation but shows how the most
enduring fictional characters over the centuries have helped map the
British psyche. In this ebook, Sebastian celebrates the greatest
villains in fiction - from Fagin to Barbara Covett.
Also included are two classic novels:
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens: Oliver Twist, born into
tragedy, runs away to London with the naive hope for a brighter
future. In this classic, Dickens graphically conjures up the capital's
underworld, full of prostitutes, thieves and lost and homeless
children.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins: Marian and her sister
Laura live a quiet life under their uncle's guardianship until Laura's
marriage to Sir Percival Glyde, a man of many secrets. Can she be
protected from a mysterious and potentially fatal plot?
Sebastian Faulks was born and brought up in Newbury, Berkshire. He
worked in journalism before starting to write books. He is best known
for the French trilogy,
The Girl at the Lion d'Or
,
Birdsong
and
Charlotte Gray
(1989-1997) and is also the author of a triple biography,
The Fatal Englishman
(1996); a small book of literary parodies,
Pistache
(2006); and the novel
Human Traces
(2005). His latest novel,
A Week in December
, was published in 2009. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of
Literature in 1993 and appointed CBE for services to literature in 2002.
He lives in London with his wife and their three children.
